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The Stadium Have you ever entered an empty stadium? Try it. Stand in the middle of the field and listen. There is nothing less empty than an empty stadium. There is nothing less mute than stands bereft of spectators. At Wembley, shouts from the 1966 World Cup, which England won, still resound, and if you... Read More

[The following passages are excerpted from Eduardo Galeano’s history of humanity, Mirrors (Nation Books).] Stalin He learned to write in the language of Georgia, his homeland, but in the seminary the monks made him speak Russian. Years later in Moscow, his south Caucasus accent still gave him away. So he decided to become more Russian... Read More

[The following passages are excerpted from Eduardo Galeano’s bookChildren of the Days: A Calendar of Human History, just out in paperback (Nation Books).] The Shoe (January 15) In 1919 Rosa Luxemburg, the revolutionary, was murdered in Berlin. Her killers bludgeoned her with rifle blows and tossed her into the waters of a canal. Along the... Read More

[The following passages are excerpted from Eduardo Galeano’s history of humanity, Mirrors (Nation Books).] Origin of Freedom of Oppression Opium was outlawed in China. British merchants smuggled it in from India. Their diligent efforts led to a surge in the number of Chinese dependent on the mother of heroin and morphine, who charmed them with... Read More

[The following passages are excerpted from Hunter of Stories, the last book by Eduardo Galeano, who died in 2015. Thanks for its use go to his literary agent, Susan Bergholz, and Nation Books, which is publishing it next week.] Free By day, the sun guides them. By night, the stars. Paying no fare, they travel... Read More